Sam & Nancy Sweeney
Sam Sweeney is one of hundreds of Willamette Valley farmers impacted by the Palomar Pipeline. His family has been farming in Yamhill County for three generations and Sam, like many generational farmers, has a deep sense of stewardship for the land that provides his family a livelihood and supports the eco-systems around them. So when Palomar came knocking on his door threatening eminent domain to lay their line through his property, Sam put his foot down and joined in solidarity with his community to refuse LNG-company access to private lands for corporate profit.
In 2007 Sam learned that his farmland was on the route of not just one, but two LNG-related pipelines: Palomar Pipeline and Oregon LNG Pipeline. The two proposals combined threaten to disrupt his berry, vegetable and grass-growing operations for a minimum of two years during construction of the lines. The pipelines would also damage the nearby Willamette River and Palmer Creek, two important water sources for habitat and agricultural use in the Dayton area that Sam has worked to protect and restore.
The Sweeneys are doing everything they can to help put a stop to LNG development in Oregon. At the same time they continue their full-time family-run business at Country Heritage Farms as well as staying involved in other important agricultural and environmental issues in their community.
We asked Sam for his thoughts on the Palomar Pipeline and LNG in Oregon and here is what he had to say:
Why do you oppose LNG development in Oregon?
1. According to a study by the Oregon Department of Energy, Oregon Citizens do not need it; and if they did, it would be less costly and less damaging to the environment if it came from mid-America.
2. Eventually, the supply of fossil fuels will be depleted. We as a nation need to take the lead and develop other sources of energy that are long term sustainable. If we could accomplish this, we could share it with other nations, but still be number one. Renewable energy in the US would also defuse the conflicts in the Middle East and raise the standard of living world-wide.
3. It would place in our community and on our farm an unneeded and dangerous pipeline that we would always be worrying about whenever we would be in the fields.
What concerns do you have about threatened impacts of the Palomar Pipeline?
I’m concerned about the danger of it, when working nearby and the disruption of the natural soil strata when burying the line. Also, the cutting of our underground drain lines and irrigation lines could irreparably damage our farming operations. The removal of the wildlife habitat that we have restored and the noxious weeds that would become established in its place is also a concern. It also would cross a water impoundment structure used to store irrigation water for several thousand acres in our community.
How has the proposal impacted your life?
Serious, committed farmers, have a passionate feeling for the land and desire to improve and protect it, for not only their use but for the generations to come. There is an old Amish saying, “We do not own the land, but, only borrow it from the next generation.” When I first heard about the pipeline, I did not sleep for three days! The feeling of having the pipeline go through would be similar to an unwanted and strange group of people who not only moved into your house and ate at your dinner table, whenever they chose; but also, they would tell you the changes that they were going to make to your house and how you should live in it.
When was the moment you knew you wanted to get involved in the resistance?
Deep within me, there was always a desire to oppose it. But it seemed a hopeless waste of effort. Then I met Dan Serres, and recognized that through him, and the supporting organized structure of Columbia RiverKeepers, there was hope! Thanks Dan, and later Olivia Schmidt, and Columbia Riverkeepers!
